


My Dead Heart Still Beats For You

by YouarethereasonIwrite



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, Attempt at Humor, Blood, Gore, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Warm Bodies AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 03:36:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5275031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouarethereasonIwrite/pseuds/YouarethereasonIwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aka only knows two things: </p><p>1) He's a zombie.</p><p>and</p><p>2) He's utterly in love with a human named Kuroko Tetsuya.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Eat Your Heart Out

**Author's Note:**

> YEEEE WARM BODIES AU !!!
> 
> hhahaah a i should be working on other fanfics whoops
> 
> i hope you enjoy this au??? honestly there's as many plot holes in this story as the ones in the movie :////// it's really similar to the movie tho so the plot honestly DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. 
> 
> warnings: unbeta'd as always and there's some minor violence and gore mainly in this chapter and then like chapter 4 or something.  
> Kuroko and Akashi might be slightly ooc bc of the setting so??? also the chapters are all short but I will be done w/ the au in like two days so :/// (each day i'll post 2 chapters idk) I hope you enjoy tho !!

 

 

Life is full of surprises, many that even a creature, thing, _whatever humans call him_ is faced with. He didn’t think he would be dumbstruck, staring into passionate, ice cold eyes that reflected a sunny sky in the middle of summer. Honestly, he didn’t even think a monster like him could even feel, yet, there he was, almost gaping openly at the pretty male before him with eyes ablaze with fury. Well technically, the whole mouth opening thing is his default as a zombie. And if he were still on the technical page, he would admit that any human would be angry if faced with a situation in which a man eating creature beat their friend or family’s eggshell skull into the ground for brains. Not exactly an ideal situation to find himself in, especially when in the presence of an alluring phantom.

Nonetheless, the redhead is still a greedy, hungry zombie, with enough cravings for human flesh to put Hannibal Lecter to shame. Honestly, if he could even remember his name at all, he wouldn’t hesitate to greet the other male as if bashing someone’s skull open to feast on their insides was another daily routine in the normal, human world. Still, the zombie manages a bloody smile that causes the other male to grimace at the gruesome sight.

All he can remember is that his name held a resemblance to his fiery, scorched red hair that looked more like a raspberry red in the sunlight and blood scarlet in the darkness. Either way, his zombie pals, if he can even call them that, call him Aka for his hair, and it’s the best introduction he can give to the pretty male without sounding rude. Again, a little too late for that but Aka is a sucker for politeness even in unfavorable events. He likes to think he used to be a formidable businessman with the amount of shit he’s had to deal with as a zombie and still try to be polite to another person with a quite promising nature.

“H-Hello.” He manages to stutter without almost no trouble. In the corner of his eye, he notices his friend, Ao, a tan dark blue haired male literally devouring a dead human whole. Some of the zombies followed Ao and Aka after they began trudging towards an abandoned city with possible survivors. With cities came supplies, and with supplies came the suicidal humans trying their best to survive in the hellhole the earth is in right now.

So, after Ao and Aka decided on the city, it was kind of an unspoken rule for zombies to “hunt” in groups. More zombies mean a less likely chance of humans surviving and everyone in the zombie group goes home happy. Or well, at least satisfied with the whole craving human ordeal before another chance strikes up and more zombies manifest the earth as a result. At least after death and being reborn as a flesh eating monster, their senses were sharpened more and their minds honed in on the animalistic instincts of a lion striking its weak prey.

Anyway, long story short, they managed to smell a group of humans (about seven, maybe eight) and one of the unlucky chaps decided to be as paranoid as ever. The smell of fear always excited the unfeeling beast within each and every zombie, so they easily barreled through the weak door to the humans and after some loud shouting, the zombie closest to Aka fell down to the floor. The zombie was dead. No one cared, too set on their senses of eat eat eat to actually mourn the death of their possible comrade. The humans were impressive, firing off shots of ammo that hit past Aka and onto the other zombies in their horde. There was maybe sixteen zombies, and only six were shot down.

Yells of panic and pain filled the air as blood heightened Aka’s senses. His cat like eyes stared at the paranoid male with wild orange tresses and blood smeared around his face. The male began barking out orders, but was obviously still shaky and deathly afraid of the scene before him. He kept whipping his head over to check something behind him, and in his distraction, Aka charged towards him with a throaty snarl. The orange haired male began shooting at him and the redhead fell to the floor, an unpleased frown on his face at his limbs no longer wanting to function. He decided to wait it out until another zombie took out the annoying male who reminded him of an orange. While he was distracted, a wisp of light blue invaded his sight. His eyes widened.

Before his very eyes, the phantom blue locks waved back and forth in motion as his lithe body danced fluidly, looking pretty as any flower yet dangerous with the machine gun in his hands. In the background, Aka could hear another zombie grumbling as they were shot down by the light blue haired beauty. The human was pale; he could easily pass off as another undead if not for the obvious beating heart Aka could hear thundering in his chest. The other male had the coldest eyes Aka could ever see, yet a touch of flaming blue fire swallowed his pupils whole as he tried in vain to protect all his friends.

Aka stood back up unconsciously in awe as he noticed the other male duck down out of sight and carefully sniped the zombies. As he stood up, the shaky male from before shot another round into Aka, and in his irritation, the redhead tackled the other male to the floor. He disregarded the panicked squeals from him as he ripped out the human’s jugular with sharp teeth. The orange head really had a set of lungs on him. Aka grimaced and silenced the other by banging his head repeatedly on the floor until he heard a sickening crack that he dully forgot about. As he tore into the succulent brains, he felt narrowed eyes on him and looked into the pretty sniper’s eyes. They were _furious._

And they made Aka feel _alive_ at the very moment.

Or maybe it was the brains he was gulping down like a starved poor person eating a lavish meal provided from a generous wealthier man. Aka groaned in bliss, shovelling down more of the brain and stuffing some of it into his pocket. Immediately, he began to see the sparks of the dead person’s life as he continuously ate the brain.

It was fortunate enough for zombies not needing anything in order to live. Honestly, the only way for a zombie to die was either by bullets or burning the body whole. Sometimes, decapitation worked, but then you would just have a crawling body without a head searching for its head and they’d still be alive most of the time. Aka, and every other zombie in the world, only ate brains in order to truly _feel_. They could barely register pain or any other emotion, hence why zombies chose to eat brains in order to live out the fond memories from their dead prey. It was inhumane, but they were never really human in the first place.

_“-roko! Kuroko!” Aka could see through the orange haired man’s eyes. He blinked before a grin stretched across his face. It felt strange, but happiness filtered into his system as a young Kuroko, the pale man with iron eyes, bounded up to the slightly taller male with adoration and joy glimmering in his sky blue eyes._

_“Ogiwara-kun!” Kuroko held out an orange ball bigger than his tiny head. Even in his hands, the basketball was barely being held onto by the smaller male’s little hands. Aka couldn’t help but find it adorable._

_The scene changed and this time, Kuroko is much older, about fifteen when he’s being dragged into safe walls that us zombies grumble in annoyance at. The walls separate the humans from the rest of the world, and Kuroko shouts in slight pain as he’s tugged by a silver haired male who’s dead eyes flare in irritation and worry._

_“What were you thinking?!” He hissed at the tiny Kuroko, who looks like a tiny child compared to the other soldiers he’s surrounded by. All of them have hardened eyes, most likely from the war going on in the world as people and zombies alike die out each day. Kuroko’s eyes are glossy._

_“I-I... “ He sucks in a deep breath, lower lip quivering. “I just wanted to help, brother…” Ogiwara watches from the sidelines, Aka using Ogiwara’s eyes as Kuroko looks so lost, so helpless at the berating from his older brother. The silver haired male huffs out in fury._

_“You’re more help when you’re out of the way, Tetsuya.” Kuroko flinches._

_“Mayuzumi…” Mayuzumi clicks his tongue before turning away. If he could move out of Ogiwara’s body, Aka would. He wanted nothing more than to sock this Mayuzumi character in the jaw for upsetting younger Kuroko. Mayuzumi doesn’t spare another glance to his younger brother. He barks orders that has backs straightening and the toughest men saluting at their obvious leader. And even as a leader, even with the tired bags dragging down his hallowed cheekbones, Mayuzumi has a young baby face like his younger brother. He must not be any older than seventeen in this scene, and the thought makes Aka (or is it Ogiwara?) feel remorse._

_“Ogiwara.” At his name being called, the orange haired male jogs over to Mayuzumi._

_“Yes, sir?”_

_“Take care of my idiot brother.” Mayuzumi commands. Ogiwara can only nod. “He’s enough trouble without mother around anymore…” He mutters under his breath before leaving with his troop of men in an army jeep. Ogiwara turns to his best friend with slumped shoulders. Instead of comforting Kuroko, the taller male rubs his nose in tired exasperation._

_“Kuroko.” He calls out. Kuroko whips around with a runny nose and soft crystal eyes that sparkle with gem tears whenever he blinks. In that moment, Aka thinks he’s beautiful even when seen in his most vulnerable state. If anything, that enhances his interest in the pretty blue haired boy._

_“O-Ogiwara... “ Kuroko sobs, but Ogiwara remains unmovable. “I just wanted to be useful…”_

_“Stay out of this, Kuroko. It’s for your own good.” Kuroko looks like he’s just been slapped. Ogiwara turns away before either can say anything else and the memory fades with the last image being Kuroko’s betrayed, wide eyed look._

_Kuroko… Ogiwara’s voice within his brain tingles around Aka’s ears. His sight is gradually coming back. “Kuroko, I love you…. “ And with that final thought, Ogiwara is silenced forever as his soul is sucked out of his body by death itself._

Aka blinks. He just experienced something tender, something secret from Ogiwara, and he feels a little bit like an eavesdropper. His heart nearly stops (if he was alive, it would have) at the grief in baby blue eyes that meet his. He’s tongue tied for once, but he knows that even if he could talk intelligibly, his words would be spewed out with as much elegance as a human being ravenously torn apart by a zombie.

“H-Hello.” And now we’re back to the start. Kuroko’s eyes flicker down to his very dead companion with almost emotionless eyes. His resemblance to Mayuzumi is uncanny, but the flash of pain in Kuroko’s eyes removes him from under the umbrella term of one Mayuzumi. And in a span of two seconds, Aka finds a knife embedded into his unbeating chest. He wants to be angry and charge at Kuroko, but the obvious sorrow in the other’s eyes stop him. For some reason, his chest felt like it was almost throbbing with pain. Whether from the onslaught of guilt being shoved onto him from Kuroko’s glossy eyes or from the small switchblade currently residing in his chest, he didn’t know. He didn’t want to know either.

“Get back!” Kuroko snarls, his eyes hardening back to its emotionless state. Aka doesn’t like the look on him, but he knows that the empty clicks of Kuroko’s gun signals his lack of bullets and that the knife had been a last resort. Aka ignores the empty threats from the other male as he stumbles over to Kuroko. He easily pulls out the knife from his already decaying body and dropped it to the floor, kicking it away so that Kuroko wouldn’t have any other ideas of trying to kill an already dead creature.

“H-Help. W-Want to he-help.” Aka’s Japanese is a little rusty, but as a zombie, the only sounds you can really make is pained grunts and the occasional grumble from discomfort or displeasure. Otherwise, zombies aren’t exactly the most articulate people.

The blue haired man’s eyes widen at the implication of Aka’s words. His pink lips part and heterochromatic eyes zone in on the pretty shell lips. He briefly wonders how soft they are, but his thoughts are snapped when Kuroko scrutinizes him with narrow eyes.

“Why?” He demands, and is silenced when Aka covers his mouth with a hasty hand. Aka glances around with almost wild, afraid eyes, like a cautious rabbit stepping out of its hole and searching for food. Aka begins wiping off the blood from his wound and smearing it all across a bewildered Kuroko’s face. The pretty pale mouth turns down in a grimace full of disgust as Aka wipes the last of his guts onto Kuroko’s body and face. He sniffs the other male, ignoring the tiny clenching of his chest when the human flinches at his space being invaded by his predator.

With a tiny, pleased grunt, Aka stands up and drags Kuroko up with him. The redhead has no idea what the bloody fuck he’s doing. He’s honestly surprised with himself in trying to help his food of all things, but he remembers the way Kuroko’s eyes full of ire and steel bars intrigued him, the way a heart shaped face with the prettiest eyes and cutest nose ensnares his heart. Aka can’t help but wonder if this is what humans felt with the whole “love at first sight” nonsense.

The redhead almost wants to snort at the thought, but he refrains from doing so. He notices that the rest of the zombies are done, with only six of them left from the original sixteen or so. The rest of the humans are all dead. It smells like blood and death, and even the untouchable Aka feels a little queasy at the reminder of what kind of monsters they are. Ao is already heading out of the door with the rest of the zombies when a blur of golden surprises him. He turns over, his eye managing to catch the sight of a pretty blond with matching amber eyes. Kuroko doesn’t seem to notice him, too glossy eyed in seeing his best friend being eaten in front of him to actually snap out of his reverie.

When they leave, Aka and Kuroko are trailing behind in the back. Surprisingly enough, not even Ao, the sharpest predator Aka knows besides himself, doesn’t even notice the other. It’s like Kuroko is some sort of phantom with little to no presence. Truthfully, Aka couldn’t tell if he was human, but his keen senses immediately pinpointed a small pulse beating with rage and adrenaline. The smell of vanilla, that only Aka could smell apparently, wafted in his nose and admittedly, yes, Kuroko smelled really good. Like, if Aka wasn’t strangely infatuated with him, Kuroko would have joined his friend on the floor and his brains would be inside of the redhead at the moment.

“Why are you helping me?” Aka kind of does a tense shrug. His shoulders are pretty useless, but they can barely move. It’s the downside of being dead, he supposes. Kuroko purses his lips unhappily.

“Are you going to eat me?” His calm voice shocks Aka. Kuroko sounds at peace with himself, like death is just another topic that humans like him talk about in a passing. Aka supposes that humans living in a damned world with creatures like him running (or slowly walking with unusable limbs) around would eventually wear down their spirits, but still. The anger from before seems to have disappeared completely, like a fleeting dream as a young child that would eventually just be a fond chuckle in the future.

“W-Won’t eat.” Kuroko hums. His hum is pretty, Aka muses as he leads Kuroko over to the airport where he’s currently living. He owns a big plane all to himself full of human knick knacks that held sentiment from over the years.

“But why?” Kuroko presses. They walk past groups of wandering dead, and Kuroko can not contain the shudder from being literally behind enemy lines. One slip up and Aka could rat him out or the others could suddenly realize he wasn’t dead. Aka doesn’t seem to worried, however, so Kuroko forces himself to calm himself once more. Kuroko follows the taller male as they walk further away from the airport of undead and onto the airplane runway.

“K-Keep s-safe.” Aka mutters. Kuroko catches it anyway and he pauses in his step at the weird answer. Aka ignores the blatant boring of eyes into his skull and walks up the steps of the airplane. He unlatches the door easily and steps into the plane without another word. Behind him, Kuroko’s breath hitches at the sight before him. Aka resists the urge to snort once again.

Surrounding Kuroko and him are a bunch of random human knick knacks that a suburban wine mom would be proud of and a sentimental grandma would collect ever since she was a suburban wine mom. Either way, it was kind of cheesy and Aka felt something akin to embarrassment rise in his chest. If he wasn’t deathly pale and a literal corpse somehow still alive, he would have flushed. The appreciative hum and awe in Kuroko’s eyes makes him wonder if this is what pride is like, but he squashes the feeling with utter panic. He’s never felt like this, never had to feel like this. So, why…?

“These are lovely.” Kuroko compliments. Aka closes the door behind his so Kuroko can feel safer. He almost regrets the action now. If Aka was dangerous to Kuroko, than Kuroko was a thousand times more dangerous to the redhead. He knows he can kill the phantom easily, but his dead heart seems to beat sadly at the thought of a dying Kuroko. No doubt the blue haired man would still look beautiful even with scarlet blossoming across his body, but Aka is much too attached to this man to even think of ending his life. He knows he’s fucked from the start.

“S-Sleep.” Kuroko’s guarded look is back on and the redhead almost wants to snatch the words back from the air and down his throat. Kuroko looks shaken and afraid, but the monotone mask brushes away the fear nonchalantly. The pale man finally sighs before bodily throwing himself onto an airplane chair. It’s first class in the front, so Kuroko sprawls out and curls up in a tiny ball. He’s a pitiful sight that causes Aka to quickly excuse himself to find his “guest” a blanket. The dark blue blanket thrown over Kuroko makes him appear even smaller than before, like a tiny, scared child who’s hiding away from from loud thunderstorms.

He doesn’t fall asleep, however. Aka kind of sits next to him on another seat and watches the other with curious eyes. Obviously, with how stalkerish the zombie is acting, a normal human would not be able to fall asleep under such intense eyes. Kuroko blinks at Aka for about five minutes before he sighs. He seems to deem the other as not dangerous as he turns his back on the zombie and slowly becomes less tense. In under two minutes, he’s fast asleep. Aka leans back in his chair and thinks about the bizarre day he just encountered.

Nonetheless, he allows himself to doze off as well, the sound of Kuroko’s steadily beating heart lulling him into a dark, dreamless sleep. Zombies don’t dream, but this time, Aka seems to see Kuroko smiling sweetly up at him. His heart begins to beat.

****  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Bleeding Cause I Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he's with Kuroko, he feels more alive than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sir Sly- Ghost
> 
> Lauren Aquilina- King
> 
> Those are the two songs used in this !! I'm throwing out another chapter bc I'm done w/ more than half of this fanfic so you nerds get this earlier. Unbeta'd, short chapters, slight ooc characters, etc. Hope you enjoy?

 

 

When Aka woke up again, he awoke to the sound of a record player being fiddled with. He doesn’t yawn, doesn’t blink, but stares at Kuroko with bored curiosity that cats’ have whenever regarding their “stupid” human. Kuroko doesn’t notice him waking up, but a slight pleased hum escapes from his parched throat as the record player begins playing music. Even in the apocalypse, music is a vivid escape that surrounds the survivors in a moment of tranquil peace, as if the outside world full of things trying to kill them was wiped away suddenly. It was like old times, with people dancing and laughing, walking down the street without a care in the world. Now, no one can walk or dance or laugh without being quiet, without being cautious and paranoid that something would jump out and kill them. In fact, no one walked out by themselves unless they were suicidal.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Kuroko greets him, a polite smile etched on his face. Aka remembers his weird dream full of dark shadows blanketing over Kuroko’s small form. In that dream, his smile is real and full of emotion that hitches Aka’s throat and makes him feel like he’s not the monster he actually is.

“Sorry,” Kuroko’s facade slips up as a sheepish smile settles on his lips. Aka likes to think about how his lips would feel like when he settled his lips on the other’s. “I noticed the record player and I couldn’t help but play it.” He’s swaying back and forth like wind is playing with his puppet strings. Kuroko looks so much like a doll with puppet strings instead of the living, breathing human being he is. His porcelain face is soft with serenity as he dances to the beat of the music. Aka’s hawk eyes are back on him, but the phantom doesn’t seem to notice.

 _“And then you haunted me, don’t have a clue what’s in motion.”_ Kuroko sings because he can and he will. He’s trying desperately to cheer himself up, but Aka can easily see through his tough mask. Kuroko is almost completely undone, the seams of his emotions being frayed further at the end as he sings like it’s the last thing he can do. Aka is fascinated, but also hit with a tight coiling in his stomach. It tightens in an uncomfortable motion as Kuroko stares blankly outside of the small airplane windows. Just like the windows and how they can’t open no matter how hard, Aka views the other male as untouchable and unable to move no matter what.

 _“Ghost… You’re a ghost…”_ Aka closes his eyes, allows the beat of the music to fill his blue, blue veins. He loses himself to the soft, trembling voice belonging to a pretty male. He loses himself in the notion that he’s almost human for a second, with his heart thumping in harmony with the beat and an almost happy emotion bursting out of his chest like bubbly champagne out of a shaken up bottle. He thinks of the lyrics and the irony of them. He imagines Kuroko fading out of his sight forever, and with his small presence, he could actually attempt to do such.

When Aka reopens his eyes, the song has changed to a different one with a soothing girl’s voice. It sounds sad, and Aka notices how Kuroko’s eyes are trained solely on him. He can’t read the other’s eyes or even movements, but Kuroko eventually tears his crystal gaze away. Aka can understand perfectly what he’s trying to say.

 _“Rid of the monsters inside your head.”_ Aka doesn’t grit his teeth. He’s back to the emotionless monster he’s destined to be forever, but Kuroko doesn’t stop singing.

 _“Put all your faults to bed…”_ His voice is wistful and full of beauty and something so bright from the shadow like presence Kuroko has. It’s different and Aka wants to wring his hands together in order to quell the light feeling in his stomach.

 _“You can be king again....”_ Aka wants to rip the large CD into shreds. Instead, he waits until the song is over before moving over to swipe the record off of the player and place it gingerly to the side. Kuroko’s eyes are still drilling holes into his head but Aka feels an almost exhaustion wash over his dead body. The redhead realizes that his human must be hungry or something so he swiftly walks away from the slightly confused male in order to search in the back of the plane for any edible food to give the other.

He returns with a can of peaches and a six pack of beers that causes Kuroko’s stomach to growl insistently and for his normally blank eyes to shine. Kuroko allows a timid smile to slip and Aka feels accomplished. It was a start until Aka’s goal of seeing a true, wide smile on Kuroko’s face came true. The shorter male scrounges around and finds a barely clean fork that he blows invisible dust off of. Then, he carnivorously devours the whole can of peaches and drinks the remaining sickly sweet syrup. As he slurps up the slippery fruit slices, Aka watches with something akin to jealousy. He wishes he was human enough to taste the sweet fruit, but last time he tried eating food, he ended up spitting it out. It didn’t interest him with its bland taste and weird texture. Never again.

Kuroko makes a delighted noise afterwards. He cracks open a beer easily and downs half of the beer bottle, the kind that used to hold all types of soda back then. Kuroko leans back, a satisfied quirk of his lips causing a weird flutter to rise up from Aka’s stomach. He suddenly feels like escaping from this unknown territory, to run far away from Kuroko who seems to be the main perpetrator of the weird emotions suddenly appearing in Aka’s body. He was supposed to be dead, for Christ’s sake.

“L-Leave.” He points at himself. Kuroko nods, his attentive stare worsening Aka’s condition. “S-Stay he-here.” Kuroko seems to want to argue back but a quirky shake of his head from the redhead silences him. “N-Not s-safe.” And then, Aka flees. He finds it ironic, how a tough monster like him can easily be driven away by a mere human. _A pretty human,_ his traitorous mind reminds him and Aka kind of wants to rip out all of his hair.

He has no idea where he’s planning on going to, but he just lets his feet take him wherever. He finds Ao, who’s sitting at a cafeteria table in the airport. Ao’s eyes are bored, like always, but he sluggishly perks up when he notices flaming red hair.

“M-mm.” Ao nods to the other with a deep grunt. Aka returns the greeting, but he’s frustrated and wants to rant about how much a human boy is affecting him. But, he knows he can’t. For as much as zombies seem like they can’t understand the human language, they could still understand words such as “human” or “danger” or really anything that has to do with food or being endangered. Aka is also a little afraid of the creatures known as “boneys”, which are far gone zombies who are reduced to nothing but black skeletons. They eat everything and nothing, even going as far as to eat zombies as well. They were always angry, always hungry, and the zombies tended to stay far away from them. Most of the time, boneys were pretty chill and only ate humans. Best not to get on their angry side in general.

Aka doesn’t know what to say. Ao is looking at him curiously, but doesn’t press. Well, he can’t anyway. The redhead sighs forlornly. He messes with his hair and decides to look around for supplies for his little human “friend”. Ao turns back to staring into the distance when the other zombie leaves, and Aka wonders if zombies always looked bored or if he was becoming too self aware. Being too close to a live human was dangerous, but Aka always did like danger.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

However, by danger, he didn’t mean this. He left the airport with another two cans of processed foods: a green bean can and a pineapple one. Aka hoped the beers would last the human for a little longer since he couldn’t find any other drinks that could sate Kuroko’s thirst. When he arrived back outside, his nonexistent heart nearly leapt out of his throat and onto the floor. There were more zombies than normal outside. And they were all crowding around his aircraft.

Aka walked as quickly as possible to his airplane and noticed a shade of cornflower blue hiding behind the large wheel from the airplane. Zombies were walking back and forth close to the wheel, their noses pointing at the air. Aka wanted to smack his head. He forgot to smear some more blood onto Kuroko’s cheek before he left. And obviously, the human had attempted to escape but just managed to catch attention from flesh seeking monsters. Aka hurries past the hunting predators and growls lowly at Kuroko.

“U-Unsafe.” He reminds the other and Kuroko glares at him in return. “Unsafe.” He repeats with more clarity, and Kuroko’s eyes widened a bit before slanting back into his puffed up state.

“I need to leave.” Is all he says, and Aka feels a rush of anger catch at his shortened breath. His eyes narrow at the stubborn character in front of him. If he could, he would roll his eyes.

“Unsafe.” He parrots. Kuroko doesn’t listen, but his trembling body gives him away. He’s afraid of the attention suddenly on him, and he’s afraid of death itself. Aka’s just glad that boneys haven’t begun showing up lately or else Kuroko would have been devoured in under a minute flat.

“You can’t keep me here forever.” Kuroko presses, crossing his arms in an attempt to appear more confident than he actually is. Aka actually sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose in a human like gesture. Kuroko’s crossed arms slacken at the sight and he looks less like a terrified, shaky man holding himself and more like the strong human Aka perceived him to be.

Aka quickly gathered up some remaining blood from the hole made by Kuroko’s knife and wipes it onto Kuroko’s face and body. He nods in satisfaction when Kuroko smells less like himself (less human in this dying world full of inhumane creatures such as Aka) and a lot more like what Aka smells daily. He nods his head towards the direction of the beasts, who are now looking around in an almost human like confusion as the human’s scent is no longer lingering around the aircraft. Some of them disperse, walking away with disinterest once the smell is gone. Others are more perceptive however, and they watch as Aka and Kuroko step out into the light with beady, black eyes.

“Be dead.” He almost sounds normal, but neither pay too much attention to the way Aka speaks at this point. Kuroko nods before mimicking Aka’s movements with jerky, limp arms and loud movie zombie noises that has Aka actually rolling his eyes at. He turns his head back to Kuroko who doesn’t seem to notice how bad or fake he sounds.

“Too much.” Aka tells him and Kuroko follows his example, but with less jerking arms and over exaggerated zombie moans that sounded more like Kuroko was trying to clear his throat and hack out a lung. At least Kuroko no longer looks like he was going to karate chop a zombie in the face with how erratic his movements are.

When they arrive back into the airplane with no suspecting zombies following them, Aka shuts the door firmly behind them and sets down the cans of food. He glares at a defiant Kuroko, whose frown looks like a stubborn pout as he crosses his arms once more. Kuroko sits down first, but his frustration at his situation is evident in the way he remains tight knit and nearly fearless of Aka’s growls.

“I am grateful of your… Hospitality. However, I would like to return back home so that my older brother does not worry.” Kuroko sets a slender leg over the other and leans back into his chair, looking like a businessman trying to sell a deal. Aka is a little surprised that Kuroko is actually thanking him instead of stabbing him in his sleep or something. The phantom was kind of strange that way; he saw Aka kill his best friend before him and eat his brains, so why? Why was Kuroko grateful for a creature like Aka?

Kuroko sighed. “Please.” He begs with a quiet voice. “I just want to go home.” Just hearing his sweet pleas is another addiction to Aka, and he wonders if he can somehow force Kuroko to stay with him. He winced at the possessive thought, however, and turns back with a thinking gleam in his eyes.

“Okay, K-Kuroko.” The phantom sits up straight. He peers at Aka with a hard gleam in his eye and Aka realized he fucked up. Random zombies weren’t supposed to know random humans’ names.

“How do you know my name?” The curiosity in Kuroko’s voice is a contrast to his blank tone that read nothing about his emotions. Aka really wishes he could expel himself from the current predicament he landed himself in. Unfortunately, he came to learn that a curious, determined Kuroko was as bad as Aka being surrounded by a group of humans with guns. He sighed.

“H-Heard.” He only says that, and Kuroko nods thoughtfully. He stares off into the distance again, but this time, it’s not depression dimming his eyes. Aka licks the blood off of his lips in a human like gesture of licking chapped lips when nervous. Kuroko’s eyes follows, and there’s an unreadable emotion in them that has Aka’s blood boiling.

“Why?” He hears himself ask. And he doesn’t comprehend whether he’s talking about Kuroko’s lack of animosity towards him after murdering and eating his best friend or why Kuroko hasn’t killed him yet as a sort of revenge that happened every day in this war torn world. Kuroko hums, like he knows the answer to all of Aka’s questions when Aka didn’t even know what he was asking the other.

“I know you killed Ogiwara-kun. I saw it.” He gulped. “I was scared at the time and so angry. But,” He turns to Aka as he says this, a soft sparkle in his sky blue eyes that Aka wonders if the blue in them is sucked out of the sky, “I was also relieved.”

He sighs out in a solemn manner, a small frown still delicate and beautiful on his bubblegum lips. “He hasn’t been himself since we were twelve, before this apocalypse happened. Ogiwara… He was already dead when we turned fifteen and his parents were killed in front of him. He may have been physically alive, but he was never the same after that.” Kuroko’s calm acceptance scares Aka. He doesn’t know what to expect from the monotone male, but his attitude towards death is what scares Aka the most. No one wants to die, as much as they say they do. Most people, if not all, were afraid of death. Even in the most gruesome situations, dying wasn’t the most ideal position to be in. Humans were afraid of life after death, of the empty promises of a heaven that seemed almost unreachable. Sometimes, Aka would wonder about it too, but he would be glad to be dead so that one less monster would roam the earth. Kuroko, however? He was a human striving to live for another day. Hearing Kuroko talk about dying was like he was abandoning his body like Ogiwara did. And Aka didn’t like that.

“I am actually grateful to you.” And it may have been the trick of the light, but an almost fond gleam in Kuroko’s eyes glittered like the stardust from the heavens above. Aka blinked away the stardust in his eyes as Kuroko hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t want to call you Zombie-san in my head all the time, so what’s your name?”

Aka didn’t stutter this time. “Aka.” He said confidently, and Kuroko’s eyes crinkled from the small smile invading his face. In fact, his whole face seemed to light up as Kuroko stared up at the ceiling with insane mirth rolling off his body in waves.

“Aka.” He tastes the name, lazily rolls the name against his tongue. Aka finds that he likes that. “It suits you.” Kuroko admits before abruptly rising up to his full height and stretching. A sliver of pale moonlight skin is revealed from underneath his tattered, bloody shirt and Aka ignores the flutter of butterflies invading his stomach. He quickly casts his gaze aside.

Kuroko doesn’t notice Aka ogling him as he places another large black record into the record player. This time, classical music fills the comfortable air and Aka likes the sound of piano calmly echoing across the plane. This time, his heart is absolutely filled with glee as Kuroko rises up like a flower dancing in the wind and sets himself free. The phantom’s moves are all elegant and practiced, and Aka is reminded of the way Kuroko looked, sweat rolling down his face and body angling to shoot at all the zombies in the room where they first met.

Kuroko is alive once more.

His hips move with a strong purpose and they sway lightly to the piano music. Aka feels the urge to join the dance, possibly place his hands on Kuroko’s slender hips and pull him in closer and closer. Aka does just that. He hands feel clammy, despite the fact that they are cold and pale and very much dead, but the feeling is still the same. He gingerly takes Kuroko’s hand in his. Kuroko doesn’t stop him.

Aka knows how awkward he’s being, and he feels embarrassment climb its way up his throat as Kuroko throws his head back and laughs, still swaying gracefully next to the bumbling idiot Aka is being. Still, like he’s known the dance all his laugh, Aka eventually gets the hang of his swinging limbs and they dance around like idiots around the small aisle space in the plane. Kuroko is smiling now, not a huge grin but a shy one that has Aka falling for him all over again.

In a split second full of confidence, Aka dips his partner down. A small smile forms on Kuroko’s lips as he stares up into Aka’s warm eyes. The pupils were beginning to become bigger as Aka seemed to become more and more human like the longer he stood by Kuroko’s side. Of course, life loved to fuck Aka over and his arm supporting Kuroko decided to stop working at the moment, which led to the redhead dropping Kuroko the short distance on the floor. As his arm was trapped underneath Kuroko’s body, the zombie toppled over too, a small grunt leaving his lips.

“Oh my god.” Kuroko laughs, a purely enchanting sound that sends invisible shivers down Aka’s body to his toes. He relishes in the sound of a joyful Kuroko, who tilts his head back in comfort and seems to be completely fine with a man eating being pinning him down. Kuroko’s slender fingers brush Aka’s face in an intimate act that causes Aka to want to bend down and brush their close lips together. The warmth cascading from the pale man’s body adds comfort to the situation and Aka feels his heart swell. Like actually begin beating. They halt once more as Kuroko trails his fingers down to Aka’s bloody hoodie that he’s worn since he turned into the undead. Beneath his fingers, there’s no beating heart, but that doesn’t seem to deter the stubborn male.

Aka returns the gesture by sweeping his fingers down and pressing the palm of his hand against the steady beat of Kuroko’s heart. It’s domestic and utterly romantic that Aka nearly kisses the breath out of Kuroko’s lips. However, the phantom is the one to stop the romantic tension between them by lightly pushing against Aka. The redhead begrudgingly sits up and gets off of Kuroko, a tiny pout on his mouth. Kuroko chuckles lowly at the endearing sight and smooths his hand down Aka’s cheek.

Neither say a thing. They don’t have to.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

“Do you remember your past life?” Kuroko asks as he stares up at the ceiling. Aka grunts in acknowledgement to the question, but doesn’t actually say anything. The redhead is unabashedly staring at his crush, who doesn’t seem to mind at the other’s insistent eyes. They had been cooped up together in the plane for about two days and Kuroko became more talkative after those two days. Most likely out of boredom, but Aka likes to imagine Kuroko chats with him more because he feels something for the redhead. Like how the zombie feels for his human.

“No.” He’s become more literate after spending time with a curious Kuroko. The human always has a question to sate his curiosity, but Aka would gladly take out his heart if prompted to from the male so it’s partly his fault that Kuroko is so chatty.

“Isn’t that…” Kuroko turns to him with glossy eyes. “Isn’t that almost sad?” Aka shrugs. He’s feeling more and more human around Kuroko and he can’t find a reason to hate it at all. Being human meant being closer to Kuroko. And being closer to Kuroko meant their relationship was slowly changing into something more intimate. Currently, Kuroko was sitting beside Aka in the economy class seats, their shoulders and hands touching with sparked heat.

Aka had long discarded the brains of Ogiwara, letting Kuroko talk about his memories instead of relying on pieces of spoiled brain lying in his pocket. WIth Kuroko, it was less like intruding on a stranger’s life and more like learning about Kuroko as a person, as the person that Aka adores.

“Can we get out of here?” Aka’s hard eyes meet Kuroko’s pleading ones. The sparkling blue are more of frozen lake at this point, and it’s long past boredom that Kuroko feels. Aka knows Kuroko is homesick and paranoid: he simply wants to leave this decaying airport. The redhead nods, delighting in the tiny spark of life in Kuroko’s eyes as Kuroko clambers out of his seat like a kid running downstairs to unwrap his presents during Christmas time.

They both walk out of the airplane and shortly after, Kuroko manages to find a black Porsche that had its keys in the glove compartment. Aka’s eyes are alit with amusement as Kuroko jams the key into the ignition and practically glows with excitement at the prospect of driving. The pale man is utterly pleased with the half full tank and starts up the engine. And without another word, the car is shooting off down the airplane runway at eighty miles per hour. Kuroko gleefully laughs.

Aka’s eyes leave Kuroko’s thrumming body and stares at the passing blurs of zombies as well as the forest beyond the airport. It’s almost pretty, if the situation were different and they weren’t the Halloween version of _Romeo and Juliet._

Kuroko’s laugh is infectious and soon, Aka is grinning widely, smelling and feeling the wind fresh on his body. His nose inhales the radiant sweet vanilla from Kuroko’s body and his smile grows wider. He loves it when Kuroko’s happy; his scent increases and his ghostly presence is replaced by something so ethereal that Aka has to turn his nose away before he can bury it on the sweet pulse point on Kuroko’s neck.

Kuroko even asks if Aka wants to drive and after a little prodding and teary eyes that Aka curses at, Aka is in the driver’s seat. He doesn’t remember his human life at all, but he feels a little closer to finding out who he truly is when he masters driving as easy as breathing. Kuroko is breathless and surprised at how easy driving seems to come to Aka but it doesn’t show on his face. Instead, they both share secretive grins and joyful, full blown eyes that see the earth as a beautiful work of nature for a moment in their hectic lives.

It’s not until the sun sets that Kuroko stops in the middle of the airway with a tender exhale falling from his cold lips. The dark clouds promise spring showers, but neither care. They’re too wrapped up in their own little world as Kuroko grips onto Aka’s hands for the first time since they’ve began this odd relationship. They didn’t say a thing about the relationship between each other, but it didn’t need to be said in moments like this. Kuroko clung onto Aka to stop feeling the loneliness clog up his throat; Aka clung onto the vestiges of his bare humanity when he was with Kuroko.

“I want to go home, Aka.” The redhead raises a brow at the blunt statement. Kuroko stares at him with longing in his eyes. Aka wished the longing was directed to him instead of to his human world where Aka can not reach him. “It’s been a few days and I can’t stay here forever. You know that.” Kuroko’s other hand is tense around the unmoving wheel.

 _A few more days_ , Aka greedily thinks. However, he knows himself fully and he knows that his empty promises would drive Kuroko to act on his stubborn suicidal tendencies once more, so Aka sighs. “One more day.” He pleads. Kuroko sits up, pursing his lips like when they first set foot in the airplane together.

“Okay.” Kuroko whispers, squeezing Aka’s hand. He squeezes back. The sun is slowly sliding down the horizon and being gulped up by the mountains far far away. Kuroko sneezes and lets go of Aka’s hand to start up the engine again. “Let’s go back to the airplane.” Aka just nods. He feels numb before he realizes it’s dread that’s clouding up his mind.

Kuroko parks the car into the parking lot like the respectable gentleman he is, something that curls around Aka’s heart and squeezes it in affection. He adores the polite side of Kuroko and the way he shyly sought out Aka’s much colder hand. They walked back to the plane with their joined hands swinging between them. Kuroko smiles at him before snuggling into the dark blue blanket covering his tiny body. As he sleeps peacefully, Aka presses a soft kiss onto Kuroko’s unruly locks. He finds himself drifting off with the other male and before he knows it, his mind is swarmed by peaceful darkness.

He dreams of Kuroko crying this time. When he wakes up, Kuroko is no longer there.

  
  
  



	3. Racing Pulses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was." -Richard Bach

 

 

Aka sprinted out of the airplane as soon as he realized Kuroko was gone. He groaned in worry and anger at Kuroko’s stubbornness as he searched high and low for the other male. Aka immediately found Kuroko fighting off four zombies with nimble kicks and a fire ax he somehow found in the rubble of the airport. Aka quickly barges his way through the zombies and stands in front of Kuroko with a snarl leaving his lips. He’s telling them to back off, that this human was not to be touched, and Ao is the only one brave enough to growl back.

“Human! Eat!” He bellows, muscles rippling with power that would no doubt end both Aka and Kuroko. But Aka is calm. He will protect Kuroko no matter what. Aka shakes his head at Ao and hugs Kuroko closer to him. The redhead tackled one of the zombies when they lashed out to attack Kuroko behind him. The severity of his action caused the zombies to stare at him with something like disbelief. Aka growls grew in volume, daring for any of them to touch _his_ human.

“Eat! Eat!” Ao kept insisting, yet Aka ignored him. Kuroko swung at another zombie, effectively killing two of them while Aka bashed the last zombie’s head into the ground. Blood and guts spewed onto his face, but he didn’t care. Ao stared at him with utter shock at his traitorous behavior.

“Why did you leave?” The redhead demanded without taking his eyes off of Ao’s shaking body.

“I want to go home, and I know that you wouldn’t have let me.” Kuroko sounded vaguely upset. He pushed his body closer to Aka’s as his hardened voice grew softer. “I’m grateful for all of your help, Aka, I really am. But, I need to get home. Please understand that I don’t want to leave either. But, it’s dangerous for me here.” Aka knew Kuroko was right, but his selfish antics caused Kuroko to be in danger once more. He sighed.

“Human! Eat! Eat!” Ao is still trying to persuade Aka, but the redhead shook his head. Before Ao could repeat his mantra, a deafening shriek filled the air. Both parties froze at the sound and Aka robotically turned to stare at the eyeless creature. A boney.

“Fuck.” Kuroko recognized the sound and he turned away from the dangerous monster. Aka nodded one last time to Ao before dashing away with Kuroko from the black skeleton. With another loud screech, the monster began chasing after Aka and Kuroko. It was quick, its ferocious snapping teeth clanging with every step it took as it ran after the duo. Kuroko dragged Aka to where the garage was.

“We need to get a car to leave.” Kuroko explained on the way. He wasn’t even breathless as he spoke, and Aka admired the quick thinking of his crush before they both made a sharp turn to the left, the boney on their heels. They passed the cafeteria, where Kuroko tried to stop the boney’s path by throwing a bunch of chairs and tables around him with little effort, but the black skeleton continued on its pursuit for human flesh. Kuroko clicked his tongue in irritation, and Aka berated himself for finding his annoyance cute and almost… Hot.

As they were chased out into the actual garage, Kuroko suddenly slammed the door behind him. The door had a handle instead of a door knob and the short male jammed his axe through the handle in order to stop the boney. His plan worked as the creature kept banging against the door but to no avail. Kuroko heaved out a deep breath. However, his breath stopped again when they turned around and found a trio of boneys standing in their way to the cars.

“Fuck.” Kuroko cursed. He was about to go back and grab his axe from the doorway, boneys be damned, but a moving vehicle beat him to it. Aka stood in front of the pale phantom as he regarded his friend with shock. Ao sat comfortably in the driver seat of a baggage cart, a lazy look adorning his face as he pointed to the back seat with his thumb.

“Get on.” He grumbled, and Kuroko eyed him with doubt. Ao rolled his eyes.

“He’s a friend.” Aka reassured the blue haired male, and Kuroko finally accepted the outstretched hand from Ao before being pulled up next to the zombie. Aka rode in the back as the baggage cart sped away from the boneys lingering near the opening of the garage. As Ao turned the corner according to Kuroko’s instructions to find the black Porsche, the trio realized how screwed they really were. A horde of zombies, about twenty or more, were standing near the Porsche. Ao stopped the car in front of the zombies, causing them to look up from their loitering around the cars.

Kuroko carefully jumped out of the cart, eyes alert to any sudden movements from the interested zombies. He smelled more human than before, and Aka quickly followed after the shorter male before he began fighting his way through the zombies and lost. Ao was still sitting in the baggage cart with a concentrated gleam in his onyx eyes. He was probably thinking of a way to help the couple without sacrificing Kuroko as the bait and getting him either killed permanently or turned into a zombie. Neither were appealing options.

When Aka turned back to Kuroko, the pale phantom’s eyes were fragile like sky tinted glass that could easily be crushed. Aka recognized the emotion. It was fear. Kuroko realized he was going to die soon, whether by the zombies or the boneys, and now, Kuroko’s body shuddered at the thought. He pressed closer to the redhead, a tender look in his eyes wrapping around Aka’s heart. Aka held onto Kuroko’s hand, placing a small kiss on the side of Kuroko’s eye. Kuroko closed his eyes in acceptance and bliss.

However, when Aka turned back to the zombies to begin the fight, he nearly stepped back. The zombies were not staring at the duo with animosity. They wore strange looks that had Aka puzzled for a solid few seconds before Kuroko tugged him through the crowd of zombies. They didn’t react to Kuroko’s appetizing smell, instead staring at Kuroko and Aka’s entwined hands.

“I’ll drive.” Kuroko piped up once, a fond smile in his words. Aka ignored the intense eyes on their joined hands as they walked past the frozen zombies and into the porsche.

“Of course, love.” He could hear Kuroko’s heart beat louder and faster at the endearment and Aka grinned like a mad fool in love (he was). They only separated hands to enter their respective doors and buckle up. Fortunately, Kuroko backed up out of the parking space in time. They left behind the enraged, hungry shrieks of the boneys and the lingering zombie who stared after them with curious expressions on their faces.

 ****  


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The rain poured down into the car as Kuroko’s chattering teeth filled the silence. The roof of the Porsche apparently didn’t work, but it was a little too late to go back and change cars. The stormy weather worsened as Kuroko pulled onto the freeway and passed a few stumbling zombies that didn’t bother to give chase to the speeding car. Aka thought back to the stunned silence over the zombies; there was no sound of groaning in pain from the zombies nor the scratching against the floor as they moved. No, they stayed frozen, watching Kuroko and Aka with enough intensity from their eyes to set them on fire. Aka could only infer why they acted like that.

He didn’t blame their blunt surprise. Usually, humans and zombies were destined to be enemies. Neither of the races were ever holding hands or even exchanging small kisses between them. It was an odd sight to the zombies, and they had watched as Kuroko and Aka left with love in their eyes for each other. Even Ao had a strange look on his face when Aka turned his head back to stare at the zombies. Some boneys were chasing them, but soon gave up when the car sped up and out of the airport in two minutes.

“We’re going to stop by a safe house. It’s dry and we can get out of the rain.” Kuroko informed him. Aka nodded, grunting as an answer as he finally took in the wet state of himself and Kuroko. His human’s hair was no longer spiky at the top but flattened down by the heavy rain. Furthermore, Kuroko’s body trembled with the lack of heat that Aka couldn’t provide. The redhead’s eyes slid down the lithe body with his clothes sticking to him like a second skin. Aka’s throat was dry.

As Kuroko pulled up to an empty driveway, they both ran out of the car and beneath the shelter of the house. Kuroko found the door to be locked, so he clicked his tongue and pulled out a bobby pin from his pocket. Aka was about to recommend slamming his body into the door, but Kuroko beat him to it by unlocking the door in less than a second. Aka blinked. Kuroko pulled him in and shut the door close behind him, locking it as well. At the puzzled expression on Aka’s face, the other male shrugged.

“I had to know how to open locked doors quietly and quickly.” He walked casually over to the kitchen area, a puddle trailing after him as well as Aka. Kuroko rummaged through the dark drawers before quietly humming when he discovered two large candles. The pale man whipped out a box of matches from the same drawer and proceeded to light the candles. With their comfortable light source, Aka could see Kuroko once more with a golden light draping over his trembling shoulders.

“We should be safe for the night.” Kuroko offhandedly commented. He hovered his hands over the warmth of the candle as he pulled off his jean jacket. The white shirt with blue stripes clung onto his body, and with the light washing over his form, Aka heard his breath hitch. Kuroko was _beautiful._ With water dripping down his trembling form, Kuroko was like a drenched god standing in front of Aka. The redhead’s fingers twitched in desire.

“I’m going to bed now. Would you like to join me?” His innocent words were all but innocent in Aka’s dirty ears, and he eagerly agreed with a simple nod. Kuroko instructed Aka to hold onto one of the candles as they walked up the creaking winding steps. They found a master bedroom with pictures of unknown people; dead or alive, it didn’t matter now. Kuroko set down his candle on the nightside table next to the bed while Aka placed his next to the pink candle already there.

“This neighborhood is a safe one. It’s for survivors like us who don’t live in the city.” Kuroko sighed. “My brother always patrols this area along with any other ones.” The pale phantom explains as he stares out the window. One of his brother’s patrols were currently in their neighborhood and Kuroko placed the curtains back down when light shone close to the window. He steps closer to the bed, still shaky but no longer holding an upset look in his eyes.

Without any warning, Kuroko begins stripping. Aka wants to look away, but finds he can’t. Not with the sudden heat flaring in his stomach at the sight of Kuroko’s jeans being pulled off after his military boots. His light blue boxers match his hair, which Aka finds endearing as Kuroko picks up his wet jeans to hang on the back of a nearby couch. Aka’s chuckles die away when Kuroko turns around to the redhead, his arms to his side with fiery eyes staring into Aka’s orbs. The shirt clinging onto Kuroko’s milky skin is causing more heat to blossom across his chest as he notices the little pink nubs standing up against the thin material of the shirt. Kuroko shudders, shielding his cold chest with his arms before slipping out of the shirt as well. Aka can’t help but continue to stare.

“I’m going to bed now, Aka. Feel free to join me in bed.” He says nonchalantly, ignoring the heated way Aka ogles his body as he fluidly blows out the candles. Kuroko settles into bed, hurriedly covering his shivering body in the large duvet. Aka is still frozen at the foot of the bed, but he eventually warms up enough to walk over to the other side of the bed and crawl underneath the covers. He’s sorely disappointed that Kuroko’s back is facing him, but he can’t help but be internally pleased when Kuroko allowed him to sleep in the same bed as him. That meant a lot of trust, and Aka is immensely happy that the phantom trusts him and almost feels the same as him.

If he mutters something like, “I love you” under his breath, only he knows.

 ****  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 ****  


He doesn’t know when he dozed off, but judging by how the birds are chirping outside and sunlight is filtering into the room from the gaps in between the curtains, it’s early morning. He suffers a case of deja vu when he notices no warmth or body next to his. Aka jumps out of bed in his haste to find Kuroko and follows his nose down the stairs to the dining room. There’s no one downstairs and a sinking feeling is beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach.

Aka sees a white paper, a contrast to the dark mahogany wood of the table. He reads it and feels sick to the stomach.

_Dear Aka,_

_I’m forever grateful that you helped me at the airport. However, I must leave you now to go back home. We live in two different worlds and as much as I would love to stay with you, we both know it will not work out. You would be shot the minute you step close to the city and I would eventually die from lack of supplies in the airport. I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you this to your face; you deserve that much. But, I know you would not let me go if you figured out my plan. I hope you take care. I am in your debt forever. May you have a safe life. Until we meet next time, I suppose._

_With Love, Kuroko Tetsuya_

It was like a slap to the face. Aka wondered if this is what cheating husbands felt like when their wives took everything with them (along with their heart) and left with nothing but a note. Aka felt cheated. He felt upset and angry and everything and nothing at the same exact time. But, nothing could fill the empty hole in his heart now that Kuroko had left back to his human world. The redhead ran outside and found he couldn’t even jog. He sluggishly rested against the door frame after he opened the front door. The car was gone and so was Kuroko.

 ****  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 ****  


Kuroko felt a bigger sorrow than he ever felt. He hadn’t felt like such shit since his mother and father passed away. The phantom stopped the black Porsche a little away from his home (which was never really his home in the first place), hiding the Porsche behind a large boulder and a few trees that Mayuzumi would smoothly overlook. He jogged another half a mile before finally reaching the large fortress. No guards seemed to notice him due to his low presence, but Mayuzumi, who was standing guard ever since his last family member disappeared, easily recognized him.

“Stay where you are!” Mayuzumi suddenly called out, spooking some of the guards. They stared at him like he was insane but he ignored them in favor of shouting out orders to check his little brother to see if he was a zombie. One of the guards pointed a gun at Kuroko’s head and the light glowed green. Kuroko stared in irritation at the guard and then at his older brother. He really felt welcomed.

“Good to see you too, brother.” Kuroko snorted. Mayuzumi pat his hair soothingly, though his twitching hand indicated how anxious and solemn his older brother felt about Kuroko’s disappearance.

“Be more careful next time.” Mayuzumi stated, and Kuroko just shrugged. He really didn’t care whether or not he died at this point as he walked away before Mayuzumi could lecture him on survival and whatnot.

“Thanks for your concern.” Kuroko stated dryly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I am tired and in need of a shower.” He sarcastically bowed down to his older brother before swiftly jogging away to their large home in the middle of the city. Mayuzumi could only watch in pained regret.

Kuroko easily bust into his own house after realizing he lost his key in the fight against the zombies on day one of meeting Aka. His heart clenched at the thought of the zombie, who was most likely enraged at the cowardly way Kuroko said goodbye to him. The pale man sighed as he ran a hand over his dirty locks under the warm water. Some of the salty water was from him, but nobody needed to know but him.

“I’m stupid…” He muttered to himself as he washed out the grease and blood from his hair. As he scrubbed his body clean, the image of Aka, a proud smile on his face hurt Kuroko. He wanted to meet Aka again, hold him in his arms and promise to never leave again. But, he was right. Kuroko knew their relationship would never work out unless Kuroko became a zombie or Aka became a human. Both were about as likely as Mayuzumi suddenly tap dancing on the large walls around humanity and inviting zombies to have tea with them. Honestly.

Kuroko dried himself off with a fluffy towel and began tugging a large sweater over his body. He wore basketball shorts under them and sighed at how comfortable he felt instead of the constant anxiety that a zombie would pop out and kill him. He only barely walked towards his bed before his door to the room burst open and his best friend, Kise Ryouta dashed in with a loud wail.

“Kurokocchi!” It could have been a battle cry with how boisterous the other male was. Kise instantly latched onto Kuroko with an octopus like grip. Kuroko sighed in fond exasperation as he pat his friend on the shoulder. Kise sobbed, still somehow appearing like the golden boy on television with his pearly white teeth (who even had white teeth in an apocalypse?)

“It’s okay, Kise. I’m here, I’m here.” Kuroko soothingly reassured his friend. Kise sniffled. They were the only two that made it out alive from their group, and the thought of their lost comrades further worsened the depression welling in both of the friends' hearts. Kuroko calmly dragged his friend over to his large king sized bed, allowing Kise to wrap his long arms around him in a tight hold.

“I thought…” Kise buried his face into Kuroko’s locks. “I thought you were gone…” Kuroko continued to pat his friend’s arm. When Kise finally let go of Kuroko, the pale man smiled softly.

“I’m fine, Kise.” He promised, wiping away a stray tear dribbling down Kise's apple cheek.  _Forget, forget,_ Kuroko reminds himself so as to not tear up like his friend at the thought of something so red and strangely alive that it  _hurt._

“But how did you survive?!” The blond demanded. Kuroko sighed.

“Aka saved me.” Kise tilted his head to one side. He remembered the day clearly, and he remembered seeing a short red haired male leading Kuroko away.

“Is Aka the zombie?” Kuroko nodded at the question and Kise’s golden eyes widened. “But how? Isn’t he a zombie? They’re kind of known for their…” Kise trailed off to make an exaggerated biting sound and Kuroko rolled his eyes. He really did miss his friend.

“Yeah, but Aka’s different.” He corrected. More than different, Aka was his everything. Kuroko looked down at the blanket, suddenly finding the sky blue duvet to be more interesting than their conversation at the moment. Kise didn’t share his sentiments and grinned in excitement.

“Do you mean he fell in love with you?!” Kise squealed. Kuroko shook his head, but a tiny smile could be seen on his face. His face practically lit up with love at the mention of Aka, and Kise’s grin grew progressively bigger as Kuroko retold his story to the blond.

“Wow.” Kise said after the story was done. They had shifted to lying down on the bed, their bodies touching as an added comfort as they stared up at the golden ceiling. Kuroko thought “wow” was an understatement but didn’t voice his opinion aloud. “Do you love him?”

“Yes.” Kuroko didn’t even hesitate. The taller male nodded. “But even if I do love him, our relationship will not work out.”

“Sure beats my week. Here you are, falling in love with a creature merciless to men except for you. And he sounds like such a gentleman for a zombie.” Kise pretended to swoon, eliciting soft bell like laughter from his best friend. He grinned. “Meanwhile, I was interrogated by your older brother and immediately sent back to work.” Kuroko cringed at the mention of his brother.

“I’m sorry.” Kise waved his apology off.

“Don’t worry about it. Your brother isn’t that scary, just a little intense, I should say.” Kuroko sighed.

“I know.” _I know, yet, I wish he could be more accepting of zombies like Aka. I know that Aka would insist on seeing Mayuzumi, which is why I didn’t let him come with me in the first place. As much as I want to, I have to let Aka live his own life and stay away from Mayuzumi and me as far as possible. I can’t endanger his life when he’s saved me so many times…_

“Kurokocchi!” Kise sounded so excited that Kuroko looked up from his pondering. Kise’s grin stretched his whole face as he stood by the open balcony. “Come see this!” He sang. Kuroko was all too suspicious of Kise’s bubbly voice, but he relented and slowly pad his way over to Kise. He gasped.

“Aka?!”

 ****  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 ****  


The redhead didn’t know whether to be depressed or pissed. After Kuroko’s disappointing “goodbye” letter, Aka had ripped the paper into shreds. He really didn’t enjoy having his heart trampled all over by another person, his cute crush be damned. Aka didn’t know where his feet were taking him, but he immediately left the house after reading the letter. After that, he walked for miles and miles, usually close to a river or a forest in case patrols were out and about. He didn’t want to be shot before he found Kuroko. And then when he found his human, he would hug Kuroko and never let him go. He would kiss Kuroko and devour him (in a completely painless way) until Kuroko realized he would never be able to part from Aka again. Aka’s inner beast purred at the thought; he couldn’t wait to have Kuroko back in his arms.

As he walked down a stream, the smell of humans became more prominent. Aka stopped for a moment and stared at his reflection for a while. There was a smudge of dried blood still there on his face so he swept the calm lake with his blue fingers and cleaned off the speck. After he flattened his untamed hair, Aka stood back up and stared out across the stream.

“Ao.” He pleasantly greeted. Ao grunted.

“Boneys… Searching for you… A-And for him…” Aka blinked. He couldn’t say he was surprised, but why was Ao here with a bunch of other zombies behind him?

“Guy… W-Where?” Ao asked, looking around like Kuroko would suddenly pop out of a bush or something. Aka kind of wished he would so that the bitter feeling in his chest would go away.

“Left.” Ao shook his head.

“Bitches, man.” Aka rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. Ao grew more serious, however. “B-Boneys chase… chase out…” Akashi quirked a curious brow.

“Guy… We s-see mem-memories…” Ao looks dreamy at this point. “B-Basketball… Mai…”

“That’s why the boneys are searching for us.” Aka realized, and the possessive part of him was shoved aside for another worry. He didn’t care less about himself, but Kuroko. Kuroko meant the world to him and if the boneys were to attack the humans… Aka shook his head to rid the negative thoughts.

“I’ll find Kuroko.” He was sure of himself. He could taste victory close up, and Aka refused to go down without a fight. First, however, he had to find his human. “Will you help me?” He addressed all the zombies. They groaned, probably still not used to the sudden human like personalities harboring within each of them.

“Fuck yeah.” Ao supplies for all of the zombies unable to speak. Aka grins a Cheshire Cat and Ao mirrors the smile. Aka feels more human than ever before, and before he knows it, he nods to the zombies and takes off running. He doesn’t know where he suddenly receives energy from, but he doesn’t question it. Not when he’s on the search for his lovely blue haired phantom. Ao is herding the zombies behind him with their slower pace, but both know their mission in life now. But first, Kuroko.

And that’s how Aka found the other male. Kuroko’s scent clung onto a secret path into the city and Aka wormed his way through the opening to find the dark night of the city being lit up by functioning lamp posts and streetlights. The sight of the large city full of bumbling life, even at night, surprises Aka. He’s not used to such brightness in his life; he pulls up his hoodie and almost gives himself away when a cheerful woman greets him. He nods back sharply.

“Hello.” She waves to him with no suspicion whatsoever, and he sighs in relief. After a mishap with a goat and nearly being busted by the guard walking around to see any trouble, Aka is exhausted and desperate to find his lovely human. The vanilla is slowly washing away from his nose, probably due to Kuroko’s absence in the city that erased his small scent. Aka grunts, leaning against a very rich, lavish building that was the biggest in the whole city. Before he can walk away and try to find Kuroko somewhere else, the unmistakable sweet voice is heard from the balcony. It’s not open, but Aka’s scents are still animal like.

“--just a little intense, I should say.”  Aka hears from an unfamiliar voice, and a twist of his stomach known as jealousy worms its ugly way into his system.  

“I know.” The pretty voice chimes in with a bitter tone. The redhead can barely hide his joy. He found his human! Aka quickly picked up a rock and threw it at the window of the balcony. He continues to throw rocks until the blond he saw as the last survivor at the storage room approaches the balcony with a curious hum. Kuroko had gone oddly quiet, so Aka didn’t know whether or not the other moved from his position. The blond’s eyes light up at the sight of the redhead and he quickly turns around to hiss out Kuroko’s name in a weird nickname.

And then, the blue haired phantom stepped out into the moonlight, his beautiful face gazing out into the peaceful night with a small smile playing on his kissable lips. With an over sized sweater engulfing his form paired with matching shorts, Kuroko is the most adorable, most beautiful being Aka has ever had the pleasure of seeing. Aka hears Kuroko’s voice hitch as the sky blue eyes widen at the sight of the redhead.

“Aka?!” Aka preens at the attention from his beloved, but pulls a sour frown when Kuroko glances around in frantic worry.

“You shouldn’t be here!” Kuroko’s eyes are wary as they continue to glance around. “You can be killed if anyone finds out!” Aka doesn’t like how angry Kuroko sounds with him, but he understands why the male is so upset. He’s honestly worried about Aka’s well being and the thought causes his heart to flutter. Before he knows it, Kuroko instructs him to go to the front door where he’ll unlock the door.

The first thing Aka does when the door opens is to trap Kuroko on a nearby wall after Kuroko barely closed the door behind them. Aka wraps Kuroko up in his arms and nuzzles the light blue strands that smell so vanilla that Aka wishes to stay in this position forever. Kuroko doesn’t refuse him and if anything, he clings back onto the redhead with as much fervor as Aka. They both linger in their presences before Kise bounds down the stairs like an overexcited puppy ready to greet newcomers.

“Don’t forget me!” Kise yelps, throwing his arms around a scowling Aka and a tired, but smiling Kuroko. Kise smiles mischievously at Aka. “Nice to meet you, Aka! I’ve heard a lot about you from your lover, Kuroko!”

“Kise!” Kuroko sounds mortified. He ignores the large grin spreading on Aka’s face and buries his head in Aka’s neck instead of replying to the other’s stunning eyes. Kise cooes at the sight of the cute couple before urging them to go upstairs and not in the colder downstairs.

Kise somehow guilt trips Aka into taking a shower and while he’s in the bathroom, Kise wiggles his eyebrows at an embarrassed Kuroko. It’s not often that he can see Kuroko as pink as a blooming rose and he’s not going to miss out on this chance.

“So…” Kuroko flinches. “He’s pretty cute.” The blue haired male slaps a palm against his forehead.

“Can’t we just drop this?” Kuroko doesn’t like feeling Kise’s playful gaze on him as Aka had basically rubbed himself all over Kuroko with a tiny pout whenever Kuroko tried to pull away. Kuroko doesn’t find it in his fond heart to deny Aka, but he’s a little grateful Kise forced Aka to take a shower.

“Nope.” Kise cackles like a maniac. “I can finally tease you about something!” Kuroko pouts.

“Aren’t we friends?” Kise almost falls for the innocent question, but he clicks his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk! Friends are for teasing, young lover!” Kuroko looks more annoyed than embarrassed now. But before Kuroko can punch Kise straight in the gut, Aka is stepping back into the room, wearing one of Kuroko’s large hoodies that fit him to a t and a pair of matching basketball shorts close in color to Kuroko’s. The phantom feels even more tongue tied when he realizes just how dreamy and prince looking Aka looks, despite the baggy attire on him.

Kise whistles. “You clean up nice, Aka!” He does a thumbs up and smiles cunningly when he notices his friend turning away with a tiny pink trailing over to his ears. “Nice enough to make Kuroko flustered!” Aka turns his head over to Kuroko, who bashfully bites his lip and stares up at the redhead with a flutter of his long eyelashes. Aka’s heart beat. He hurriedly reaches his phantom and smiles playfully down at Kuroko.

“I look good?” He asks, and Kuroko pushes him away weakly but immediately melts into Aka’s embrace as the zombie smooches Kuroko on the forehead. In the background, they hear a faint squeal before Kise is shooting off to god knows where to ensure they have privacy. Aka appreciates the alone time he has with Kuroko, especially when Kuroko’s smile brightens up his face and lidded love filled eyes are directed at nobody but Aka.

“Yes.” Kuroko admits timidly. He buries his face into Aka’s shoulder once more after his statement. Aka grins wide enough to put Kise to shame.

“I’m glad.” His voice is still a little shaky from little use, but Aka catches on to speaking quickly. Kuroko pulls him over to the bed and they sit down on the edge of the large mattress.

“I’m sorry, Aka.” Kuroko apologizes softly, pressing gentle kisses on Aka’s fingertips and hands. Aka’s heart warms as he’s caressed gingerly by Kuroko, who’s staring up at him with so much adoration in his eyes that Aka feels like the luckiest man to live.

“I didn’t want to leave you like that. But I knew that if I didn’t just leave, I would be reluctant to go back.” Kuroko kisses Aka on the lips, a chaste kiss that still manages to cause butterflies to erupt in Aka’s heart. “Can you forgive me?” Not trusting his voice to not crack, Aka nods. Kuroko beams at him, and _fuck it’s too bright._

“Thank you, Aka.” Kuroko sincerely says. He kisses Aka on the lips again and again before he’s practically tackled by Aka to the bed, who takes pleasure in pinning him to the bed and having their lips sensually move against the other. Kuroko tangles his fingers in the crimson strands he comes to love while pulling Aka closer until their bodies are flush together and pants are being exchanged through their mouths. It’s not slow, not with how much longing Aka spills into the kiss nor the desire in Kuroko’s lips as a chill rolls down his spine.

“Remember to wrap your sausage, Aka!” Kuroko laughs between being devoured by Aka’s lips and his heavy breathing as they continue to kiss. As they separate from the new addition to the room, Kuroko glares half heartedly at Kise.

“Stupid Kise…” Kuroko mutters mainly to himself, but the blond puppy hears anyway and sticks his tongue out at Kuroko. The phantom rolls his eyes, allowing Aka to bury his head in his neck this time. While the redhead places butterfly kisses all over Kuroko’s neck, Kise does an inappropriate gesture with his hands (the classic placing a finger in a hole) that causes Kuroko to flip Kise off. The blond gasps shrilly, placing an offended look on his chest.

“I’m just trying to make sure you don’t get STDs, Kurokocchi!” An odd, thoughtful look replaces his mock offended look. “Can zombies get STDs? Is there like a zombie STD specifically for zombies or does it affect humans too?” He rubs his chin and squints his eyes in thought. Kuroko would face palm again if Aka wasn’t attached to his body like a clingy child. Either way, the pale man wouldn’t mind either a child or Aka to cuddle up to him.

“Shut up, Kise.” The pale man “politely” said. Kise just waves him off.

“So, what are you going to do with your boyfriend now?” Kuroko hums. He isn’t wrong with his train of thought, and the blue haired male pecks Aka on the crown of crimson hair to calm down his own mind.

“I don’t know.”

“Boneys… Friends come…” Aka cut into their conversation, sitting up when he remembered the reason why he was here in the first place. Kise and Kuroko exchanged worried looks.

“What do you mean, Aka?”

“Boneys search for us.” Kuroko’s eyebrows furrowed.

“But why? What’s so special about us that boneys are searching for us?”

“Us…” Aka points to the two of them. “Makes change in zombies.” Kise’s eyes widened and he glanced at Aka skeptically before turning to Kuroko. The shortest male nods slowly, processing the words as he crosses his arms.

“I suppose that makes sense.” Kuroko entwines his fingers with Aka. They’re a lot warmer than when they first held hands, and Kuroko knows that Aka’s changing. It was cheesy, but they were changing due to their love for each other. And that was the key. To just love instead of hate each other.

“But how will you tell Mayuzumi? He’s going to wipe all the zombies and boneys away whether you want it or not.” Kise pointed out. Kuroko frowned.

“I’ll help.” Aka sounds so sure and confident with himself, but Kuroko knows that Mayuzumi would hate him regardless of his race as a zombie or human. Mayuzumi never really liked characters like Aka: confident and prideful. Kuroko remembers the last time one of the guards was too overconfident. He was shut down immediately and Mayuzumi showed absolutely no mercy to the man. Just thinking about it made Kuroko shudder.

“My older brother will not approve of you. He’s not so fond of zombies.” Kuroko explained patiently. Aka looked a little distraught at his human’s words, but Kise quickly clapped his hands in delight.

“We can disguise him!” Kise’s grin grew sinister. “I was saving my sister’s makeup for my wedding, but moot point by now.” The blond couldn’t stand still. He wanted to work on Aka with his makeup instantly! However, it was late at night and there was a curfew for everyone.

“We can do that tomorrow.” Kuroko nodded, glancing at his lover for confirmation. The redhead nodded. “For now, let’s go to bed.”

“Alright. I’ll sleep in your guest room, Kurokocchi. Good night! And try not to be too loud when you guys go at it. I’m a light sleeper.” Kise winked at the two before leaving with a loud chuckle at Kuroko’s reddening face.

“Cute.” Aka stroked Kuroko’s cheek with delicate fingers. Kuroko huffed but didn’t try to refute the zombie. He climbed under the covers, helping Aka under them before turning off the lamps by his bedside and settling down next to the redhead. The zombie was much warmer at this point, almost like an actual human with his temperature. Kuroko smiled, snuggling into the slight warmth emitting from his adorable boyfriend.

“Good night, Aka.” Kuroko yawned sleepily, slowly drifting off in the crook of Aka’s neck. A small chuckle rumbled from the taller male before he too, fell into a deep sleep. That night, he dreamed of Kuroko wearing all white with a bouquet full of roses in one hand. Their hands entwined as they faced each other with matching rings on each of their fingers. As Aka leaned in to kiss the other, he felt enough joy to melt the cold, dead barriers around his heart.

 

 


	4. Our Bodies Are Warming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aka realizes just how human he is; Kuroko always knew.

 

 

“Just a little more foundation…” Kise brushes color onto the pale cheeks of their zombie friend. Aka blinks and resists the urge to jerk his head away from the prying make up tools invading his personal face space. Kuroko, the traitor, chuckles behind a hand and turns away from the bewildered yet agitated frown on Aka’s handsome face. Because admittedly, even as pale as death itself, Aka was still very much attractive. Kuroko thinks he would make either an intimidating businessman or a possible model. Aka’s slim, fit body is the right type for that kind of agency (and the right body for Kuroko).

Aka’s face basically screams, “Is this really necessary?”, but he doesn’t flinch, merely staring straight ahead at the huge mirror reflecting his image. He feels a little silly, like a little boy being forced to stay still to wear a little suit for the annual Christmas family pictures. Kise is humming an upbeat tune that even has the blank faced phantom tapping his foot and silently bobbing his head up and down. Aka doesn’t recognize the song (being dead does that to you), but he admires the way it has his partner dancing lightly and singing the melody under his breath in a rapid beat.

_“Lucky I’m in love with my best friend; lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again…”_ Kise and Kuroko sing in near perfect harmony; the blond sings the higher parts while the blue haired male sings the low notes. Kise places the finishing touches of a light rouge on Aka’s face before dancing away, swinging his body around like a natural dancer. He taps over to Kuroko with a gleeful grin. He playfully begins a childlike dance with a rosy cheeked Kuroko, who laughs and laughs without a single care in the world. Aka feels his cheeks stretch, even with the slight pange of green envy shooting at his heart.

“You’re insane.” Kuroko states with no bite. His fond look in his crinkled eyes look a little too romantic to be friendly, but Aka shoos the thoughts away. The blond merely throws his head back and allows a bubbly chortle to fill the air. Aka feels welcome all the same, and he gets up to possessively drape his arms around Kuroko. Kuroko welcomes him wholly, even going as far to begin swaying their bodies back and forth in a drunken way. He knows they look laugh worthy, but neither care.

When the song in their minds fade away with the sands in an hourglass melting away the time, Kuroko and Aka meet for a sweet kiss that mingles their warm breaths together. Kise continues to hum the vocals of the song, watching with rapt attention at the besotted “idiot” couple dancing in each other’s arms in a tight circle. The blond’s hum echoes across the empty, cold house as he snatches up the bag of makeup and skips his way to his own guest bedroom (that Kuroko easily gave away to Kise when he found out his friend was living in a small district with little room to study medicine).

“It’s time to see your older brother, Kurokocchi.” Kise reminds the other with small regret. He wants them to bask in their shared love while they still can before they were thrust back into the war against races. Kuroko nodded, hesitantly extracting himself from Aka’s arms as he pecked one last lingering kiss on his lover’s pink lips. Aka looks more alive than ever. They sigh in each other’s joined mouths as a last energizer before untangling themselves except for their entwined fingers.

“Let’s go.” Kuroko exchanges a determined gaze with his comrades and before long, they set out into the darkness of the near dawn. It’s near 3 am at the time, and the cold spring winds are relentless on the weary survivors. No one is outside save for the soldiers and guards sitting around campfires with hushed conversations and the occasional drunk guffaw creating wisps of white smoke that joined the last humans of the earth. Kuroko and his little group confidently strode up to one of the guards always seen next to his older brother. Mibuchi Reo looked up when he saw Kuroko nearing and waved cheerfully.

“Kuro-chan!” Mibuchi threw his arms around Kuroko and shoved him to his chest. Aka twitched at the sight of a random person acting friendly and touchy with _his_ Kuroko, but glanced away instead of possibly doing something he would regret (and that would give his position as a zombie away to the soldiers with guns). Mibuchi and Kise hugged with equal amounts of clinging joy before Mibuchi smiled amiably at the trio.

“So what brings you here, Kuroko, Kise?” Although his friendly grin is still on his face, the tightening of his lips illustrated the tense atmosphere of the camp. Kuroko realized the hollow laughter around the campfire for drunk soldiers was what they perceived to be the last dawn they would ever see. Mayuzumi knew what was yet to come, and that made Kuroko all the more anxious to break past Mibuchi.

“I need to see Mayuzumi.” Mibuchi shakes his head regretfully.

“Unfortunately, Chihiro isn’t seeing anyone right now. Sorry, Kuro-chan.” Kuroko wonders if decking out Mibuchi in the head will cause him to face serious repercussions. However, before he can test his theory out due to his frustration, Aka stands up tall, removing his hood to reveal a pretty face.

“I must see Mayuzumi.” The dazzled gleam in Mibuchi’s eyes give away his sudden attraction to the human like zombie. Aka smiles in a charming way to seal the deal. “May I?” Mibuchi shakily nods his head up and down with a hazy smile on his pretty face. Kuroko shoots him a quick glare as he tightened his hold on a chuckling Aka’s hand.

“Thank you, Mibuchi.” Kuroko’s response is clipped. He doesn’t wait around for the raven’s response before running down to the weapons area that he knew his older brother would most likely be in. Kuroko sighs in relief when he discovers Mayuzumi hunched over a map of the surrounding area, a large furrow of his eyebrows causing wrinkles to scrunch up his forehead.

“Mayuzumi.” Kuroko makes sure to hide Aka behind Kise. The blue haired phantom steps up to his older brother, who turns around to greet Kuroko with razor sharp eyes.

“Kuroko.” His tone is as cold as the tundra in his orbs. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping right now?”

“I’m afraid now’s not the time for that, Mayuzumi-san.” Kuroko retorts with an icy steel finish. A tired amusement fills his older brother’s face as he crosses his arms and leans back against the working table.

“Oh? Please do enlighten me, dear brother.” He sarcastically bites back. Kuroko glares. His slightly raised shoulders are like a cat hissing with its hackles raised. He bristles at the blank tone of his “bored” brother and takes another step forward.

“I know about the boneys and the zombies coming to us.” Mayuzumi’s eyebrow quirks up at the statement.

“And from whom did you get that information from? Reo?” The sharp tongued leader shakes his head with a snort. “I will talk to him later.” He waves Kuroko away with a dismissive hand, but Kuroko is having none of that.

“I wasn’t saved by another human you know, and I wasn’t alone.” Kuroko sharply inhales. “A zombie saved me.”

“What?” Mayuzumi scoffs. “And what makes you think I’ll believe that?” Kise’s teeth are clamping down on his bottom lip as he revealed Aka behind him, who stepped forward into the light and into Mayuzumi’s narrowed vision.

“Because he’s the one that saved me.” Kuroko stood his ground. He held out his hand for Aka and they both joined their fingers together into one. Mayuzumi watched with absolute disgust as he swiftly pulled out a gun. Kuroko sensed his brother’s malicious intent and immediately threw himself in the line of fire. He glared venomously at the last surviving member of his family.

“Do not touch him.” Mayuzumi waved his gun to the side, indicating for Kuroko to get out of the way. He didn’t.

“Get away from him, Tetsuya!” Mayuzumi hissed, marching towards Kuroko and yanking him out of the way. Kuroko yelped, kicking as Mayuzumi threw him aside and onto the ground. “I will rid of all of the vermin like you in the world!” The silver haired male threatened. He pushed Aka against the wall, his handgun pointing directly at Aka’s head. The redhead struggled, but he only glanced back at Mayuzumi with calm eyes.

“Mayuzumi!” Kuroko bodily threw himself at Mayuzumi, but the taller male didn’t register his younger brother’s slamming body against his. “He is different, Mayuzumi, please!”

“And I will avenge my mother and father for your heinous acts!” Mayuzumi’s snarl grew into a cold smirk. “Any last words, monster?” Aka blinked slowly. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact from the bullet that would shatter his skull. Instead, he was met with silence and a loosening grip from his captor. He opened his eyes quickly, surveying the area and finding Kise with an apologetic smile on his face. The blond held a long pistol against Mayuzumi’s head while Kuroko stood at the side while waving his hand frantically for Aka to see.

“I’m sorry, Mayuzumi. But, I can’t allow you to do that.”

“Let’s go!” Kuroko finally yanked Aka away and under Mayuzumi’s hard grip as he swiped a few weapons (two handguns and a machine gun along with three Swiss Army knives) and tugged Aka away from the scene.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“For Kurokocchi and his lover, I would.” Kise said steadily before releasing Mayuzumi from under the pressuring gun. Immediately, Mayuzumi slammed him onto the floor and a wave of pain filtered the blond’s body. The silver haired leader wasted no time in alerting his troops for battle. Kise closed his eyes as dark spots began filling his vision. He had to wait at least another five minutes before he could fully function. _Good luck, Kurokocchi,_ the attractive male whispers in his blank brain.

“Where are your zombie friends?” Kuroko impatiently asked. He knew his brother would be chasing after them soon enough and he did not want to have to deal with another showdown against Mayuzumi. He didn’t want to kill the other, but if he had to, then he would. Aka tugged him along this time towards the back exit out of the city. Kuroko easily recognized the trail as the one he used to use with Ogiwara in order to sneak out to hunt and gather up other supplies from nature. That was also the same path in which Ogiwara changed forever after seeing his parents as zombies. And Kuroko had killed them.

“This way.” Aka grunted until they reached a large gathering of zombies underneath a see through dome shaped ceiling. The stars were still high above in the sky, and if they weren’t in a dangerous predicament, Kuroko would have admired them from afar.

“Aka…” Ao waved lazily to Aka and then to Kuroko. Kuroko nodded in return, his eyebrows scrunching up together at the sight of so many zombies in one place. They all watched Aka and Kuroko with an unnamed emotion in their eyes. Eventually, their eyes fell down to the couple’s entwined hands.

Kuroko tightened his grip on Aka’s hand. Aka squeezed back, throwing Kuroko a reassuring smile. “I don’t know how to help them.” Kuroko softly admitted. Aka turned his lover over to him, both of them facing each other with the stars from the night sky reflecting in their eyes. Kuroko realized the once black eyes of Aka were slowly turning into two different colors: glimmering crimson and brilliant gold. His hand traced the strong jaw line of the redhead, a tiny smile dancing across his eyes.

“I know. But, we can do it.” Aka promised, kissing the hand of his beloved. Kuroko nodded, exhaling deeply out of his nose.

“For you, and for them,” he stole a glance at the watching zombies, “I would do anything.” And with that, Kuroko sealed his promise by stealing a kiss from Aka’s soft lips. Their mouths molded together in harmony and Kuroko sighed blissfully in his boyfriend’s open mouth. Before they could possibly scar the almost self aware zombies, large clangs could be heard above them. Kuroko pulled away as fast as possible, his heart thumping loudly as he noticed a dozen boneys climbing around the fragile glass dome ceiling. They were hammering their hard skeleton fists against the glass until holes began to form.

“We need to leave.”

“T-Take.. Care…” Ao pointed at the boneys dropping from the shattered dome ceiling like raindrops from the upcoming storm. Kuroko nodded, a small grateful smile etching on his face. Aka nodded as well, tugging his human in the other direction.

“Thank you.” Kuroko whispered to Ao, whose eyes grew wide at the gratitude from the human. Kuroko nodded at the rest of the zombies before dashing away with Aka leading him towards a safer place. Behind them, they could hear rapid gunfire from the troops that were shooting at the boneys who sailed down from the sky.

Aka felt a surge of energy pumping up his adrenaline filled veins as his hand gripped onto Kuroko’s tightly. They ran as fast as they could, searching for a temporary place to hide from the boneys at the very least. As they sprinted into the actual baseball field of the stadium they were in, Kuroko turned his head back and noticed five boneys following them. He whipped out his handgun and began firing at the boneys, managing to take out three of the five with his amazing sniping skills.

“Come on!” Aka urged as they sprinted past the stadium and up a flight of stairs. “We need to get higher!” He grit his teeth as they reached another sharp bend. All of the sudden, his back met the thick surface of the wall behind him and he was pinned down by a shrieking boney. Aka punched the rib cage of the boney hard enough for it to shatter before using a nearby fire extinguisher to slam the boney against the ground. The skeleton attempted to limp up before falling dead to the floor when Aka ground the fire extinguisher against the bones.

“Aka!” Kuroko yelped as he was pinned down by a boney. The snapping teeth were close to his neck and Kuroko gulped heavily. Both of his hands were occupied with prying the skeleton off of him and avoiding the fatal bite from the creature. Aka quickly rose to his feet with the fire extinguisher. He forcibly threw the boney off of his lover with his new weapon before beating down the skeleton with it. Kuroko gasped in breathes shakily, sitting up and being helped up by Aka.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Kuroko assured his boyfriend. “For now, let’s keep moving.” Aka nodded in agreement as they took off to the last flight of the stairs. The sounds of fighting were growing louder and louder, with the sounds of gunshots, growling, and moaning from below. Kuroko pulled Aka over to the edge to view the fighting from below, both of them watching with wide eyes.

Below, the soldiers were confusedly watching as the boneys were battling the zombies. Meanwhile, Ao resurfaced from the moving bodies in the middle of the stadium, throwing down a growling boney in front of the soldiers who shot at the creature until it was completely still. A much noisier shriek from the end of the hallway alerted Kuroko and Aka of their current situation. They both ran to the opposite of the hallway and Kuroko hissed profanities when all of the rooms on their floor were locked. They were trapped at the end of the hallway with nothing but boneys circling around them.

“Fuck!” Kuroko cursed out in a panic. Aka held him tightly to soothe him, a warning snarl on his lips to the boneys moving closer and closer to them. Kuroko shot a few boneys with both of his handguns and his pistol before the bullets ran out. There was still about a dozen left with more streaming into the stadium.

“This isn’t the end.” Aka swore, tenderly holding onto Kuroko’s face so that they faced each other. Kuroko nodded, bursting the emergency door open. The boneys immediately sprung up to attack them but Kuroko and Aka were already falling out of the third floor. Luckily, there was a fountain full of water to break their fall. As their bodies spun until quickly splashing into the water, Kuroko heard a loud gunshot and then the wincing from Aka before they landed into the fountain.

Kuroko panicked. He knew his brother’s aim was much better than his because of his experience, but he didn’t think Mayuzumi would find his exact location. He must have seen the two of them jumping out of the building by some sort of twisted coincidence and on instinct, shot Aka before they splashed into the pool of water. Kuroko swam up to surface, greedily inhaling the air into his parched lungs. He wildly glanced around before diving back into the cold darkness to find his lovely boyfriend.

The pale man easily found the redhead by his shimmering scarlet locks that were breathtaking even under water. The sunlight streamed under the water, casting Aka in a peaceful light as he slumbered in the murky blue waters. Kuroko kicked over to Aka; he slid both of his arms around the heavy body and began swimming up towards the surface with Aka’s warm body in his arms.

“Aka!” Kuroko spit out water as he watched Aka blink away the wet drops from his long eyelashes. Kuroko instantly hugged his lover, who flinched at the painful contact but didn’t voice his pain aloud. The phantom brushed Aka’s long bangs away from his beautiful heterochromatic eyes full of undeniable love for the other. Kuroko wept softly, a large smile on his face as he realized they were both still “alive”.

“Get away from him, you monster!” Mayuzumi screamed, shooting a warning shot in the air. Kuroko whipped around before shielding his whole body over Aka’s.

“Stop it, Mayuzumi! He’s saved me countless times and I refuse to stand by and allow you to kill him!”

“Kuroko, move aside!” He cocked his gun. “Before I make you.” Kuroko’s eyes streamed with tears as he spread his arms out.

“He’s not like the others, Mayuzumi! Please!” Kuroko’s desperate pleas fell on deaf ears. In an act of frustration, Kuroko threw his hands up in the air, water spiraling around his and Aka’s bodies at his violent movement. “Why don’t you kill me so I can join mother already?!” Mayuzumi flinched.

Kuroko glared at him before turning around to gesture at Aka. “He’s the reason why I’m still alive.” He exhaled deeply. “And he’s always saved me! He’s..!” Kuroko turned around to face Aka, who was too silent during this whole mess. The redhead was gazing at his new wound with amazement. The zombie stared down at his bloody hands and then at the red liquid staining the clean water with purple.

“He’s bleeding…” Kuroko whispered. Then, with an excited shout, “he’s bleeding!” The blue haired phantom whipped around, grabbing Aka to join him by his side. The soldiers’ eyes grew wide at the revelation and at the amount of blood dribbling out of the gun shot from Aka’s shoulder. They whispered among themselves as Mayuzumi’s normal blank eyes were big and full of confusion and wonder.

“Aka, you’re bleeding!” Kuroko hurriedly tugged his boyfriend towards the edge of the fountain. A brave soldier walked towards them with his gun dropped to the ground as he helped pull Aka, then Kuroko out of the water. The shorter male kissed the water off of Aka’s bewildered face. His make up was already washed off, yet his face still looked the same as when he had color on his cheeks. Kuroko pecked Aka’s cheek, muttering his gratitude to the skies above. In the background, the sun began to rise from the dark stormy weather.

 

 


	5. The Road Ahead of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They leave behind the physical war tearing the earth apart and start anew.

 

 

Aka sat, poised in the back of the van as Mayuzumi drove the car with white knuckles on the wheel. Kuroko didn’t say much, but his constant stares at the mirror to gaze at his bleeding out boyfriend showed how worried he was. Mayuzumi still didn’t say anything, even as they drove away from the stadium and back into the headquarters to get Aka patched up.

Finally, Mayuzumi glanced up at the mirror. “Are you still bleeding back there?”

“Yeah.” Aka grits his teeth as a particularly large bump causes his body to jostle carelessly in the air. He really liked being alive but he forgot how terrible feeling pain felt until he was shot in the shoulder.

“Good.” Kuroko smacked his brother on the shoulder.

“Mayuzumi!” His voice held relief though, and the tense air around them crumbled like the eroding boneys after their deaths. Kuroko exchanged a bemused look with his older brother, who looked much older than he actually was but more accepting towards whatever life threw at them. Mayuzumi finally plucked up his courage to hold onto Kuroko’s hand. The shorter male jumped, but then gripped back onto the hand with a small, loving smile on his face.

His brother was back. They didn’t say another word, eyes locked on the outside of the moving vehicle. Aka winced, but a large grin spread across his face. He knew exactly why they were nearly called twins when he noticed the matching glossy eyes both held as well as the worrying frown on their faces.

When they arrived back and into a medical camp, Kuroko unbuckled his seat, but was told to stay by a soft request from his older brother. Aka, sensing the mood in which they were to have a long, serious talk, merely walked out of the Jeep and into a nearby medical tent. Inside, a bubbly blond smiled, chattering to an annoyed Ao, who was being treated by said annoying doctor.

“Aka!” Kise’s feminine eyes met Aka’s cat like ones. “I’m so glad to see you!” He instantly grimaced as he noticed the bloody state the redhead was in. “Well, glad to see you’re in one piece at least.” With that, he scurried away to fetch the supplies needed in order to help Aka.

“Hey.” Ao muttered softly, flinching at the long cut on his bicep. Aka nodded. So he wasn’t the only one that was slowly turning back into human. The dark onyx haired man examined his nails before slumping back down into the cot he was in.

“Okay, this might sting a little, Aka!” Kise arrived back to the scene with a pair of tweezers, gauze, disinfecting wipes, and a needle with a thread. After the painful process of extracting the bullet from out of Aka’s shoulder and then stitching up his wound, Aka lay on the cot to Kise’s insistence. The blond talked quietly to Ao, Kise chortling softly under his breath when Ao couldn’t seem to pronounce something.

“You’re an interesting being, Ao.” Kise complimented, a cheery grin on his face. Ao muttered something else, a darker hue on his face.

“You’re… You’re v-very pretty…” Kise flushed up to his ears at the compliment before hiding away his face with his hands. He stuttered an excuse about retrieving something from another medicine office before fleeing from the scene. Ao chuckled. Aka felt glad for the budding romance starting between them. He hid a smile behind a secretive hand before falling into a deep sleep. That night, Kuroko and him danced again, both of them smiling at each other until Kuroko placed his heavy head onto Aka’s healthy shoulder.

_“For you, my love, I would do anything.”_

****  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 ****  


Kuroko visited him the next morning with a bashful grin and a muffin in one hand. Aka never felt hunger strike at his abdomen until that very moment, when the smell of a freshly baked blueberry muffin filled his nose. He eagerly took the pastry from his lover’s hands before wolfing it down. It was delicious. Aka felt his eyes becoming wet with raindrops at the taste. _He was human again._

“I’m sorry I couldn’t visit you yesterday.” Kuroko bit his lip. “I meant to see you, but Mayuzumi and I had a long discussion last night.” The blue haired male sat down to Aka, who licked up the rest of the crumbs from the delicious muffin and blinked with owlish eyes. Kuroko smiled lovingly, pecking Aka on the side of the mouth to dust off a crumb from his messy eating boyfriend.

“It’s okay.” Aka smoothly said, entwining his fingers with Kuroko’s. “Can I have more of that bread thing? I’m really hungry.” Kuroko laughed jovially, untangling himself from Aka with a large grin.

“Murasakibara will be glad to hear it.” Kuroko hummed. “Would you like to come with me?” Aka eagerly nodded; he really just wanted to leave the medical tents before he went insane with boredom. The redhead stood back down from the cot on wobbly feet, eliciting a bark of laughter from Kuroko who found it all too funny. Aka glared halfheartedly at his boyfriend but he eventually became used to walking again. They set off away from the camp (more like sneaked out).

“What were you and Mayuzumi talking about?” Aka asked curiously as they wove around the busy people in the streets. Kuroko waved at a few children who chorused his name with glee in their tiny voices. The phantom laughed, tugging Aka away and into a friendly looking bakery with many sweets on display.

“You’ll see.” He mysteriously replied before opening the door and escorting the taller male into the tiny bakery. As the bell chimed, a raven stepped out of the kitchen, dusting off his flour coated hands and smiling kindly at the customers.

“Welcome! Are you new here, kind sir?” Aka nodded, amused that the person didn’t notice Kuroko yet. Kuroko sighed.

“I’m here too, Himuro.” Himuro’s eye widened at the voice, but otherwise he didn’t show any other frightened response. The raven’s smile grew wider at finding his irritated friend.

“Nice to see you again, Kuroko. How have you been?” The phantom rolled his eyes fondly but stepped up to the display case with a smile on his face.

“Same as always. This is Aka by the way.” Kuroko thrust Aka back into the conversation, the latter rolling his eyes at his boyfriend but rubbing his thumb against the other’s hand in a soothing motion. Himuro chuckled lowly.

“Nice to meet you, Aka. I’m Himuro Tatsuya, one of Kuroko’s long time friends.” The raven politely greeted, sticking his hand out across the short display case to shake Aka’s hand. The former zombie looked a bit confused, but Kuroko easily slid Aka’s warm hand into Himuro’s palm. Himuro gently shook their heads up and down before releasing his hold on Aka.

“He used to be a zombie.” Kuroko bluntly commented as he examined the sweets and breads among the display cases. Aka’s eyes widened and he shot a betrayed look at Kuroko, who merely shrugged back with a tiny grin on his face. Himuro blinked. He didn’t look all too angry or upset, but he copied Kuroko’s action with a warm gleam in his eye. His long black bangs moved with him as he glanced fondly behind him in the kitchen.

“That’s nice. As long as you treat Kuroko well, I don’t care what you are.” Himuro joked. Kuroko shook his head in exasperation and Aka looked lost.

“In fact,” Himuro’s smile grew loving, “I just found my younger brother in the zombie herd. His name is Kagami. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?” Aka shook his head. He didn’t remember most people’s name, you know, being a man eating creature and all. Himuro laughed.

“I didn’t think so. He’s always been the most brash. Probably why he got bitten in the first place.” Himuro sighed. “Anyway, I apologize for my babbling. What would you like?”

“The blueberry muffin.” Kuroko butt in. “And two French bread, please. Thanks, Himuro.” Himuro nodded, easily sliding a muffin and two loaves of bread in brown paper bags.

“Oh, and before I forget!” Himuro rushed back into the steaming kitchen, the hot winds rustling out of the curtains and filling the air around Kuroko and Aka with steam. Aka’s skin prickled with heat and a slight wet sensation across his brow bewildered him. Kuroko giggled behind a hand and pressed a loving kiss on the back of Aka’s hand.

This time, a much taller individual walked out with a lazy hunch. His head nearly touched the ceiling and he was the tallest person, being, what have you not that Aka had ever seen. Hell, he had to strain his neck in order to look at the other straight in the eye.

“Ah, Kuro-chin.” The purple haired giant lazily greeted. He placed another bag full of vanilla cookies in front of a delighted Kuroko. “For you.”

“Thank you, Murasakibara. Your sweets are amazing as always.” A lazy twitch of a smile landed on Murasakibara’s face as he turned to the red haired newcomer.

“Who’s that?” Kuroko shook his head, popping a vanilla cookie into his mouth.

“Aka, meet Murasakibara Atsushi. Murasakibara, meet Aka.” The redhead cleared his throat in slight annoyance that his boyfriend introduced him.

“Nice to meet you, Murasakibara.” He stuck out his hand and the giant’s much larger one overlapped his. Despite the size, however, Murasakibara’s calloused hands were gentle and gingerly shook the other’s up and down.

“Nice to meet you too, Aka.”

“Your sweets are very good.” Aka complimented, and Murasakibara’s lazy eyes shone with delight.

“Thanks, Aka-chin.” Ignoring the sudden change of name, Aka nodded, a pleasant smile on his face. Being around the mellow baker really made him feel just as calm as the other did.

“Well, I need to check on other people. I’ll see you around, Murasakibara.”

“Okay. Bye, Kuro-chin.” Murasakibara waved. “Bye, Aka-chin.”

“Goodbye, Murasakibara. Till we meet again.” And with that, the two left the hot bakery and into the cool winds of the spring. Thunder ominously roared in the darkening clouds above as Aka scarfed down another muffin and began nibbling on the fresh bread. It was still delicious.

“It’s going to rain soon.” Kuroko pointed out, chewing on a vanilla cookie thoughtfully before heading underneath a nearby store with shade. Immediately after his remark, tiny drops of water dripped down onto the pavement below before growing into a large downpour. Aka enjoyed the moment, being flushed up against a warm Kuroko and staring out into the central park where people ran for cover.

Two people in particular caught Aka’s interest, and he watched as a zombie (who was now a human) he recognized trailed after a tall green haired man persistently. The green haired man snapped, his loud voice carrying with the wind and informing Aka that the stranger preferred stormy weather and “would not like an umbrella, thank you very much; it’s not needed”. The raven with wind swept bangs chuckled, having to stretch his arm up to accommodate the taller male and himself. A snicker rose from the raven’s lips as they walked off while the green haired male begrudgingly allowed himself under the dark green umbrella with red ears.

“Ah, Midorima.” Kuroko stared at the familiar moss haired man. He waved to Midorima, who nodded before walking away with the stranger next to him. Aka stared curiously at this Midorima, who brushed awfully close to the shorter male accompanying him.

“Who?”

“Midorima is the head doctor. He was looking for a cure for zombies, but looks like he doesn’t need it anymore.” At Aka’s inquiring gaze, Kuroko continued, “Midorima has a younger sister who turned a while back. I’ve seen her playing with the other children, so I’m glad that the zombies are turning back into humans without any complications.” _I’m glad you’re human again,_ is what Kuroko meant to say, but both already knew.

“I see.” Aka hummed, eating up the last of his bread and wrapping an arm around his shivering boyfriend.

“Would you like to see something?” Kuroko asked out of the blue. One delicate eyebrow rose on Aka’s face as he faced Kuroko. His boyfriend had a large smile. Aka felt his newly beating heart drum harder against his chest.

“Of course.” The words from his dream echoed in his head. _For you, my love, I would do anything._

 ****  


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 ****  


“I always used to go sit up here whenever I wanted to get away.” Kuroko mused aloud as they sat a little away from the city with its large walls. Kuroko and Aka snuck out of the usual back entrance, being mindful of the increased patrols now that the boneys were closer to humanity. Fortunately, the zombies and the humans joined forces and eradicated the boneys. The black skeletons never stood a chance. They had no hope of ever reverting back into a human, with how bitter and angry their corrupted souls were. The only thing left for them to do was to rot away. Aka could almost feel pity for them, but he kept his thoughts to himself and breathed in the familiar vanilla scent from his lover.

“I can only imagine.” Aka says truthfully, imagining a younger Kuroko sitting on the very edge of the balcony and watching the world fly by in the tiny city before them. The gray walls were dark in presence and loomed over the inside of the city as a reminder of the separation between the humans and the rest of the world.

“Yes,” Kuroko breathed out gently. “It was a tough time long ago.” Aka pressed a loving kiss into the crown of sky blue hair.

“I’m proud of you.” Aka smiled down at the small beam from his lover. Their helds hands were warm and a solid presence in their war torn minds.

“Aka?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you ever… Do you ever remember your past life?”

“Never.” Aka doesn’t remember any of his life before he became a zombie. He can only theorize and assume he was once a successful business entrepreneur of some sort. Even as curious as he is to think about his past life, he knows that nothing matters, nothing compares to the life he has now. Being beside Kuroko was the only thing that mattered to him now, and he would gladly give up his past life for this one.

“What about your name?”

“I don’t remember.” Kuroko slowly rose up from his comfortable position on top of his cuddly boyfriend and eyes him. Aka raises an eyebrow at Kuroko but doesn’t object his human’s scrutiny (even after a few days of getting used to being human, Kuroko would always still be his human; he would still be Aka’s).

“I thought of a name for you. Would you like to hear it?” Aka nodded, smiling gently at his lover who leaned back into Aka’s shoulder.

“I suppose.” He can’t resist teasing Kuroko, enjoying the angry pout on his lover’s face as he glares up at the innocently smiling redhead.

“And _I suppose_ I don’t have to tell you, now do I, Aka?” Aka laughs. He squeezes Kuroko’s fingers in between his and nuzzles apologetically at the sky blue strands.

“I’m sorry, my love. You are much too easy to tease.” Kuroko grumbles something unintelligible, but decides to enlighten his boyfriend.

“Akashi.” Aka nearly jolts. He stops himself, however. “I think the name Akashi suits you.” Kuroko hums and nods to himself like it was the best idea since Murasakibara made him a vanilla milkshake one day. Aka can’t help but find Kuroko absolutely adorable. He hides his slightly flushing face in Kuroko’s wild bed head and smiles.

“I think it’s a wonderful name.”

“Me as well.” Kuroko suddenly turns, the sunlight from the bright sun nearly blinding Aka as his heart thumps almost painfully in his ribcage. Still, he doesn’t mind the effect his tiny phantom has on, especially with how ethereal he looks at the moment, a loving grin on his pink lips and the crinkling of his glossy eyes staring right into Aka’s own.

“I love you, Aka.” Kuroko’s eyes are half lidded. Aka begins to feel his his eyes droop. He meets Kuroko half way and their lips meet tenderly. In front of their tilted heads, the large gray walls began tearing down by explosives from Mayuzumi himself, and the crumbling foundation of the fear in the human filled city is brought down with the looming walls. Man made fireworks explode in the sky with brilliant colors that light up both of their eyes as they separate to stare lovingly in each other's eyes. Aka brings his face closer to his lover's, enjoying the sprinkle of adorable cherry adorning softly freckled cheeks.

He presses kiss after kiss into Kuroko’s mouth, whispering, “I love you, I love you, _I love you_.” And when they separate, a matching grin on their coral lips, Aka looks up and drowns in the surrounding, eternal midnight sky swimming above their heads. He smiles.

Akashi’s glad he’s alive.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's done !!! hahah ahaahaaha 
> 
> //whispers 
> 
> this isn't that great bc of how fast i typed it upsorry


End file.
